Woman Sues Google for Showing her Underwear

No, a rep from Google didn't run up to her, take a picture of her britches and post it on the internet. Instead, the unnamed Japanese woman is suing the online media giant for their map's street view image of her address -- which just happened to be taken on the same day she hung her delicates outside to dry:

According to the report in Japanese newspaper the Mainchi Shimbun , the twenty-something was afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder before Google's alleged public shaming. Yet, the uneasiness worsened exponentially after she found out that her undergarments could be seen by any who looked online.

The Telegraph reported that the woman told a district court, "I was overwhelmed with anxiety that I might be the target of a sex crime. It caused me to lose my job and I had to change my residence."

Her lawsuit alleges that she began feeling that she was secretly being photographed throughout the day, and the results of her obsessiveness with the issue was enough to cause her to be fired.

The image was removed by Google as soon as the lawsuit was filed in court. Google is still looking into the facts of the case to determine how the company should proceed.

Cases such as these are not uncommon with Google. In 2008, Google was sued by Aaron and Christine Boring for posting pictures of their swimming pool on Street View.

The woman is reportedly suing for 600,000 yen ($7,000) in damages.